Thai Food with Sour Cream
Can you eat Thai food with sour cream? Yes, you certainly can! Many classic Thai dishes can be mixed deliciously with sour cream. Some cooks have already realized that you can successfully add a dollop of sour cream to many Thai curries, but did you know that sour cream mixes well with the popular noodle dish Pad Thai? Or that you can use it to add a delicious sour creaminess to Pad Krapao?
Of course, sour cream won’t work great with all Thai dishes. For example, we would never recommend adding it to Tom Yam Kung or Tom Kha Gai, as there is no need to add any additional sour creaminess to those dishes. But, as with Mexican food, the list of Thai dishes that sour cream does work well with is a long one. You just need to use your common sense and experiment, as we have been doing for many years. Here is one of our most delicious Thai food and sour cream experiments that we think you’ll love.
Som Tham Loong-Vid (Isaan Casserole)
Step 1: Take a large handful of hot sticky rice and mold it into a patty on a large plate. Cover the top of the sticky rice with sour cream. If you live in Thailand, we use Alli or Caroline sour cream, which costs only 39-45 baht for a 145 gram container. The Caroline sour cream is better packaged in that it comes with a clear plastic top to help keep the sour cream fresh after opening. The two sour creams, which are called Kreem Prio (ครีมเปรี้ยว) in Thai, are sold at Makro and Tops. There are more expensive sour creams available in Thailand, but we haven’t found them to worth the extra cost. In addition, we have found that both Alli and Caroline sour cream are perfectly fine up to around 10 days after the expiration date on the container.
Step 2: Add a layer of grilled beef slices or grilled pork on top of the sticky rice and sour cream. We suggest using beef or pork cuts that have a bit of fat on them (rather than a lean cut). In Thailand, this could mean adding a layer of Khaw Moo Yang (คอหมูย่าง) or Suea Rong Hai (เสือร้องไห้). When it comes to Thai beef, we always use meat from Pon Yang Kham farm, which produces the best beef in Thailand. Then drizzle about 3 tablespoon of Nam Jim Jao atop the beef or pork, making sure this classic Thai dipping sauce is more on the sour side than the bitter side.
Step 3: Cover the grilled beef or pork slices with the fresh papaya salad known as Som Tam Thai. We do not recommend using Som Tam Lao, because Pla Ra (fermented fish) does not mix well with sour cream, and (in our opinion) ruins the delicious flavor combination of this dish.
If you operate a restaurant in Thailand and decide to offer this Isaan Casserole on your menu (which is a good idea if you have farang customers), do send us a message. We’ll come pay you a visit when we are in your area to try the dish!
- The Hidden Dharma of Thai Language & Culture - May 11, 2024
- The Royal Ploughing Ceremony in Thailand – A History - May 8, 2024
- Dying Well the Buddhist Way in Thailand - May 7, 2024
